3 from Highland Falls seek seat in Orange legislature

All three candidates for the Orange County Legislature's new 14th District come from the Village of Highland Falls in the Town of Highlands.

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By MICHAEL RANDALL

recordonline.com

By MICHAEL RANDALL

Posted Oct. 18, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By MICHAEL RANDALL

Posted Oct. 18, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

All three candidates for the Orange County Legislature's new 14th District come from the Village of Highland Falls in the Town of Highlands.

The district includes that town plus the eastern part of the Town of Woodbury.

The hopefuls are:

Inga Quaintance, on the Democratic and Working Families party lines;

James DiSalvo, on the Republican and Independence party lines; and

Konstantinos Fatsis, on the Conservative Party line.

All three candidates favor some course of renovation and repair for the county Government Center, which was closed Sept. 8, 2011, after being damaged by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee and, aside from the section housing the courts, remains closed to this day.

Quaintance uses words like "ludicrous" and "criminal" to describe the lack of action on the building, which, she said, is "decimating the Goshen business district."

"I want it open and open now," she said.

Fatsis supports renovation and repair of the building "at the least cost to the taxpayers.

"This should not even be an issue," Fatsis said. "It should be up and running already."

DiSalvo said while some areas of the building, like the utility areas that are always flooding, should be replaced, "a healthy portion could be renovated."

On the subject of the county-owned Valley View 360-bed nursing home, DiSalvo said he's open to whichever course will provide the best care for the home's patients. If it is privatized, he said, there must still be some county oversight.

Fatsis said the home "must remain in county hands" and if necessary he could find funding elsewhere in the budget to keep Valley View operating.

Quaintance wants the home "county-owned with county oversight," because if it is privatized, "the people who would buy it would want to make a profit."

As for local issues, Quaintance said there's "very little that pertains to the county, but we still pay county taxes." She suggested the county might be able to help with the need for some water system improvements in Highland Falls, or its suffering business district.

Fatsis said the district "needs a strong voice" at the county level, from the need to improve the water system in Fort Montgomery to the ongoing problems with the county-owned sewage treatment plant in Harriman.

DiSalvo said a big goal for him would be to get the county to put more economic development efforts into the district.